Like Real People Do
by nessyrose
Summary: I had a thought, dear However scary About that night The bugs and the dirt Why were you digging? What did you bury Before those hands pulled me From the earth? Set during Gone Baby Gone. Sheila is a tad more manic in this story. In light of recent events, Olivia calls upon the one person she should have never let go.
1. Chapter 1

Ten hours. 600 minutes. 36000 seconds. 36001 seconds. 36002 seconds. Olivia paced back and forth. She watched the seconds tick by. Every second that passed was another second away from her son. Another second in which he was still missing.

She sat down in her chair and sighed heavily. She had a million thoughts running through her head. _How could I let this happen? I let that woman into our home and now he's gone. I need Noah back. He has to be okay. I can't lose him._

"Liv!" - Fin yelled her name and burst through her door. "We got a lead! Rollins and Carisi got through to the gardener. He has a place up in the woods. He was supposed to meet Sheila there once night fell.

Liv stood up and put her gear on. Fin put his arm around her back and led her out. "We got this baby girl. We're gonna get Noah back".

Two hours later the squad surrounded the cabin. Helicopters were in the air and snipers surrounded the perimeters ready to shoot at a moments notice.

Sheila peeked out the blinds. "Grandma! When's mommy getting here?" said Noah as he walked up to her by the windows. "Noah! Away from the windows!" said Sheila as tried to put a calm face on.

The helicopters whirred above them. "Helicopters!" Noah exclaimed as he ignored his grandma's warning and peeked out the blinds. "Police! Mama!" Noah said. Sheila started to panic. She knew she couldn't hold on for much longer. She roughly pulled Noah by the arm to move him away from the windows. "Ouch! Grandma. You're hurting me" complained Noah. "Be quiet!" said Sheila as she began to lose her patience. She dragged him to the bedroom and locked the door.

Sheila ran her hand through her hair. Noah was hers. He did not belong with Olivia. He was her last tie to Ellie. She already lost a daughter. She could not lose her grandson either. She would not leave without him. She pulled out her phone and dialed Olivia.

"Sheila. Please give me back my son." pleaded Olivia as she answered the phone. "HE'S NOT YOURS!" screamed Sheila into the phone. "Noah belongs with ME!" I am not giving him up. I have demands and you need to give them to me. You will never see Noah again."

Olivia breathed in deep and closed her eyes. "Sheila, please" said Olivia. "I'm done talking to you." Said Sheila as she hung up the phone.

Olivia fell to the ground. Carisi went up to try and comfort her. "Say the word Lieu. We got snipers that will have her out in seconds. She shook her head and pushed his hand away. "No. No matter what, you don't shoot. Noah doesn't need to see that. I need a minute" and she walked away.

The tension was thick as everyone awaited to hear what their next move would be. Olivia walked a few feet away and leaned against a tree. She breathed in through her nose and pulled out her phone. She scrolled down her contacts to a number she hadn't dialed in awhile. She hesitated before pressing the call button.


	2. Chapter 2

"Tucker" replied a tired, gruff voice.

"Ed" said Olivia softly.

Tucker sat up and rubbed his hand over his face. It had been over a year since the break up with Olivia. Needless to say, this was the last voice he had intended to hear. His mind wandered over to when he first told her about transferring to HNT. " _I'm doing this for us. We got a good thing going here and I want it to continue"._ He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. " _Look at me"_ he stated quietly, but firm. " _Remember when we were in Paris and you told me how Cragen said, "there's more to life than SVU?" Well, there's more to life than IAB. You and Noah remind me of that everyday. I spent over 20 years interviewing cops who may or may not have been dirty. I don't want to spend another 20 years doing that. This is for us. So we can all move forward. Together."_

Olivia smiled. " _Okay_ ". She said. _"Okay"_

At first, it was an adjustment but soon enough it worked and everything was fine, but he knew the guilt from Dodds' death still weighed heavily on her mind. He tried to be there for her but Olivia was stubborn. It was one of the many things he loves... _loved_ about her. Before he knew it, she had closed herself off faster than he could blink and they were in her living room saying goodbye.

Needless to say, the transfer to HNT ended up being a blessing in disguise after the breakup. He rarely had any interaction with her after the breakup, most of their cases didn't end up crossing paths.

A sniffle brought Ed back to reality.

"Liv, what is it?" asked Ed

"It's Noah. I let her in and she took him and I don't trust anyone else to-" her voice cracked, unable to go anymore.

"Where are you? I'll be there as soon as I can." Replied Ed. Ed hurriedly put on a new change of clothes and his HNT vest and headed towards the door.

Ed messaged the rest of his team to meet him at the location. His hands shook as he drove to the location. He sighed heavily. _Noah. Sweet Noah. The one that almost was going to be his son. He had gone through more trauma than any young child should have to go through any of this. Hadn't he been through enough?_

Ed arrived to the location as the rest of his team pulled up. He stepped out of his car. His eyes scanned the area, moving past Fin, Carisi, and Rollins until his eyes landed on Olivia. Olivia was a good few feet away from everyone leaning against a tree with her head in her hands. He could see her body tremble as she tried to regain control of her emotions. He took a deep breath and walked towards her.

"Liv" he said quietly as he came to stand in front of her. She pulled her hand away from her face and looked up at him, the tears threatening to come out of her eyes.

As soon as he saw the broken look in her eyes, his attempt to stay professional broke and he stepped towards her pulled her into his arms. He leaned his forehead against hers and breathed in deeply. "I didn't know who else to call. I can't lose him, Ed" said Olivia. Ed pressed a kiss to her forehead and hugged her tightly. "We're gonna get him back, Liv. We're gonna get our Noah back".

Olivia took a deep breath and composed herself. She led Tucker back to where the rest of the squad and HNT were. They gave him a quick debriefing. _Noah Porter Benson. 5 years old. Taken by his maternal grandmother. He had been in there with her for over 2 hours now._


	3. Chapter 3

_"Tuck! What that?" inquired Noah as he briefly let go of his mommy's hand to point towards the large structure a few feet ahead of them. Ed looked down in fondness at Noah before looking back up and answering his question. That, bud, is the Eifel Tower." replied Ed. "Big tower! We go there?" questioned Noah. "You betcha, buddy. You, me, and your mommy are gonna have a nice dinner by the tower and then in a little while, the tower's gonna light up." said Ed. "Tower! Light up! Like police car! You and mama are police!" said Noah in his sweet voice. Noah grabbed Olivia's hand again and gently pulled on it. "Mama, let's go, I wanna see the lights!" requested Noah. Olivia ran her hand over his head, giving him a gentle pat. "Okay, sweet boy, we're going. We're going" responded Olivia._

 _Olivia handed Noah a toy police car as they came to a spot that wasn't too crowded. She sat him down on the grass and put down the basket of food near him as she went to help Ed spread out the blanket, while keeping a close eye on Noah. A few minutes later, her, Ed, and Noah were sitting on the the blanket munching happily on sandwiches and fruit. Olivia looked up as the sun began to set and pulled her jacket a bit more snug around her body. Ed noticed her movement from the corner of his eye and moved one of his arms to wrap around her, while he finished up his sandwich that he held in the other. Olivia snuggled her body against his and sighed in content. She looked up to ask Ed something when a noise interrupted her thoughts. Her, Tucker, and Noah looked to their left where the commotion was. A young couple, probably about half their age, were hugging excitedly as the girl looked at her left hand blissfully. "Mama! What's happenin?" questioned Noah as he brought a hand to her face, touching her cheek gently and bringing her back to the present. "They just got engaged, my love" replied Olivia. "What's engaged?" asked Noah. "Well, my love, engaged is when a man and a woman promise to love each other forever and the man gives her a ring to keep that promise" answered Olivia. "You and Tuck engaged?" questioned Noah innocently as his eyes wandered over to her left hand. Olivia and Ed glanced at each other and then back to Noah. "No, buddy we're not engaged but we do love each other." answered Ed. "Forever?" questioned Noah. Olivia squeezed Ed's hand and looked at him through the corner of her eye. "Yes, sweet boy. Forever. 'I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be" responded Olivia as she recited a few lines from one of Noah's favorite books. Noah turned his attention to Ed. "Tuck, you love me forever?" asked Noah sweetly. Ed breathed in deeply, his eyes becoming a little emotional because of the sweet and innocent boy in front of him. Ed glanced back at Olivia before looking Noah straight in the eyes. "Yeah, No, forever and ever." replied Ed. Noah smiled back at Ed before his attention was quickly diverted by the Eifel Tower lighting up. "Lights, mama! Pretty lights" said Noah as he gazed up in wonder. Ed and Olivia looked at each other briefly, silently communicating to discuss this later, before bringing their attention back to the Eifel Tower._

 _Noah snuggled into Tucker, with his arms wrapped around his neck tightly, his light snores the only sound filling the air as Tucker and Olivia quietly walked back to their hotel. "Liv, about earlier," started Ed quietly. "Don't" said Olivia cutting him off as she stopped her walking and took a breath, trying to collect her thoughts. "You know that year when I was fostering Noah, before he became legally mine, I didn't think I needed anything else. I thought to myself, me and Noah against the world. He won't know the hardships I went through of being alone growing up because I was going to make sure that he knew he was loved beyond words by me. But then you came along, with your offer of bourbon, she laughed quietly as Ed smirked at her, and you became my friend, my confidant, who I could talk to when there were days that I thought I was in over my head. You always reassured me that I was the being the best mother to Noah that I could be. You never pushed for more than I asked. You gave me space when I needed it and you supported me even before we became us. Admittedly, it hasn't always been easy for us, we haven't always seen eye to eye, but i remember when I called you in after they shot at Amaro's house with his daughter inside, and you told him that you would've done the same thing he did,-" "I would protect Noah with my life" stated Ed. "I know" said Olivia as she stepped closer to kiss him and she ran a hand down Noah's back. "I know. I'm not expecting anything, but you being here with me, coming home to you, meeting up with you and Noah at the park for lunch. That's more than enough me. I don't need a ring to promise me forever. You being a constant in our lives, that's enough of a forever for me" said Olivia as she covered his cheek in hand and smiled. Ed turned his head to give her hand that was on his cheek a kiss. "I'm not going anywhere" stated Ed as him and Olivia stood there next to each other, a silent promise communicated through their eyes._

A shrill ring brought Olivia out of her flashback. She glanced at Ed who stood to her left who nodded at her to answer the call.

"Sheila. Please give Noah back" pleaded Olivia

"I told you. Noah is MINE. Me and him are gonna go off and you're never going to see him" responded Sheila

Ed took the phone from Olivia's hands, pushing the speaker button on.

"Hello. Sheila, this is Ed Tucker with Hostage Negotiation. You can call me Ed." said Ed into the phone

"Hostage negotiation? You. You're the ones that can get me what I need." said Sheila

Yes, that's true. I can get you what you need, but Noah, you need to let him go. He doesn't have to be apart of this" spoke Ed into the phone.

"I already told Olivia. Noah is not going back with her. Now I need money and a car. Noah's my baby now." said Sheila

"Money? Alright, we can get you money, but you need to show us that Noah is okay. You do something for us and we'll do something for you." spoke Ed in a calm and even voice.

Sheila sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration. She marched towards the room where she had locked Noah in. She unlocked it and scanned the room for Noah. Noah sat on the stiff bed in the room, tears running down his face. He looked up at the sound of her opening the door. She pulled the phone away from her ear and said "smile Noah" as she clicked the button on the phone to take his picture.

She quickly shut the door and locked it again. She sent the photo to Olivia's phone and glanced out the window to make sure they got it. She put the phone back to ear. "There. He's fine. Now get me my money. 500,000 dollars" she said and hung up the phone.

Olivia glanced at the phone in Ed's hands as the photo popped on screen. "Oh God. He looks so terrified" whimpered Olivia. Ed grasped her hand that was closest to him and squeezed it gently. Ed turned his attention back to his team and repeated Sheila's demands. His team nodded and went back into the trailer to get to work.

Olivia put a hand to her forehead. Ed turned his gaze back to her as he tried to catch her eyes.

"She won't hurt him. As twisted as this is, a part of her loves him too. And she wants money and a car. She is looking ahead." said Ed

Olivia sighed heavily and shook her head but Ed let go of her and reached up to brush her hair back, stopping her movement. He moved his other hand up so they were on either side of her face.

Olivia opened her mouth to disagree with Ed, wanting to say that this isn't love. Love isn't kidnapping a 5 year old boy..but the words that came out of Ed's mouth stopped her.

"They're not gonna go anywhere" said Ed and they both were quiet for a moment as the weight of words settled in, both of their minds flashing back to the last time Ed had said those similar words to her that night in Paris before everything fell apart.

Olivia looked up finally to meet his gaze. She opened her mouth to respond but closed it back again, not knowing what to say. It was not lost on her how easily she threw everything, the guilt of Dodds death haunted her and hit her full force as soon as they stepped back into Manhattan. Before she knew it, she was making excuses to not meet up with Ed and keeping him away until all of a sudden he was actually gone. Her heart ached at all the times Noah would question her about Tucker's whereabouts after the break up. "When's Tuck coming back? Will Tuck come over read my new book to me? Tuck still my friend?"

"He said, he love me forever Mama. Why Tuck no come over anymore?" She told him forever, but yet she pushed him away the first chance she got. She blinked her eyes as tears started to pool at her eyes as she thought about how she not only took away her happiness, but Noah's. _Not this time_ she thought to herself. _I won't screw this up again._

"With my life, remember?" continued Ed as he spoke breaking Olivia out of her thoughts and reminding her of the other promise he had made her in Paris.

"Noah will be back in your arms before you know it. Liv, you and Noah, forever, remember?" spoke Ed

"Ours" responded Olivia, finally speaking up. "Our arms. Noah, me, and _you_ , forever." spoke Olivia, the start of a new promise was not lost on Ed.

Ed took in her words and nodded. He kissed her forehead. "Forever" he said. "Forever" he reiterated and they turned their attention back to the team to see how the demands were coming along.


	4. Chapter 4

**I apologize for the long wait. I got sick and swamped with work and then Jessica Jones Season 2 came out on Netflix and I HAD to binge watch that (what's your favorite show to binge watch?) and of course the time change has thrown me off. Excuses aside, thank you for the feedback on my story and I also apologize for switching the name of the story on you. Don't you ever come across songs and the words just speak to you? This is one of those songs ..if you haven't heard it, it's by an artist called Hozier. Make sure you check it out...after you read this new chapter of course :).**

 **Also, I apologize if I am off with any of the timelines. In my mind, Olivia and Ed dated from the time Noah was a few months shy of him turning 3 up until a few months after he turned 4. But hey it's fanfiction...can't always be accurate..but if you know for sure, please let me know so I can make the needed corrections, Anyway, on to the story.**

 _"Make a wish and place it in your heart. Anything you want, everything you want. Do you have it? Good. Now believe it can come true._

 _Okay, now ready Noah? Blow out your candles, sweet boy!" said Olivia. Noah closed his eyes and did as his mother requested. The sound of clapping caused him to open his eyes back up and he turned to his right to smile at Olivia_

but instead he found a blank wall with the paint chipped off in various places. There was no cake or candles or birthday decorations. The only sound he could hear was the pacing of Sheila in the next room. Noah sighed and breathed in through his nose. The memory of his 4th birthday seemed like a lifetime ago. It was a happy one. He remembered his mother taking her cell phone and snapping a selfie of them before she called Ed, or Tuck-Tuck as Noah sometimes liked to call him, over to join in on the photo. He remembered his mother printing out the photo and placing it on the fridge with a magnet only for it to be gone a few months later when Lucy came over in the morning to bring him to preschool. It was the first time he had woken up and not seen Ed with his mommy in the kitchen. Everyday, he would wake up, hoping his Tuck-Tuck would be in the kitchen, making pancakes or drinking coffee with his mommy before one of them would take him to school. Every morning, it would still be Lucy him the kitchen, and he would ask his mother incessantly when he was gonna come over again, but Olivia would just say, he's not here right now. Eventually, he stopped asking and got used to seeing just his mother in the kitchen or both his mommy and Lucy when he woke up to go to school.

Noah closed his eyes again and became lost in another memory. " _Alright, little man. Now remember, keep low and look straight ahead. Don't look left and don't look right. Keep your eye on the ball. Okay, Noah? Ready. Set. Kick!" coached Ed. Noah did as he was told and ran towards the soccer ball that was a few feet ahead of him. He stopped a few inches away reached his foot out and kicked the ball hard. He watched as it went straight into the makeshift 'net' that Ed had made out of two trash cans. He threw his arms in delight and turned back to Ed. "Tuck-Tuck, goal!" cried Noah with glee. Ed ran over to him picking him up and holding him in the air. He gave him a hug and a high-five. "You did it, No! Great job!" complimented Ed. Noah turned his attention to his mother who was walking towards them with a smile and holding a brown bag in one hand and a tray of drinks in the other. He wiggled in Ed's arms as a sign to be put down and ran towards his mommy as soon as his feet hit the ground. He hugged her legs as he reached her and smiled up at her. "Mommy! I made a goal!" said Noah. "You sure did, sweetie. Are you and Tucker ready to eat?" asked Olivia._

"Noah, do you want to eat? I found some crackers in the cupboard." asked Sheila through the door. Noah opened his eyes as his grandma's voice broke through his memory. He looked up at the door.

"I want mommy!" stated Noah

Sheila sighed. "Okay, I will try again in a little while."

Noah laid down on the uncomfortable bed. He took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do.

Meanwhile, Olivia held on tightly to Ed's hand as she vaguely listened to him talk to someone on his team. Although Ed's attention was on what the other person was saying, he rubbed circles on Liv's hand with his thumb, soothing her. A moment later, they finished their conversation and turned to her, nodding his head. Olivia took a shaky breath and looked towards her team.

"They're bringing the money on a helicopter. Let's call her when it's here" she stated.

A while later, another helicopter sounded over them and yelled something through a megaphone. They landed in a clearing away from the cabin as the HNT went over to retrieve the money.

Olivia took a deep breath and took out her phone and dialed Sheila's number, turning on the speaker.

Meanwhile, back in the cabin, Sheila jumped up from the rickety chair she was sitting in as the phone on table next to her rang.

"Do you have my money? My car?" demanded Sheila

"We have the money, spoke Ed in an even voice, but Sheila, you gotta work with me here. You know, that photo of Noah...that's not showing he's okay. We need to be able to see him. You love Noah right? Let one of us come in. We can bring you the money

"No! Leave it at the door!" shouted Sheila

"Now Sheila. You know I can't do that. I leave the money at the door and you open it to retrieve it, there's some people here...they won't hesitate to shoot." spoke Ed

Sheila pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Okay, fine. You. You can come in. Not Olivia. Not one of her little detectives. Not that ADA. Only you." replied Sheila

"Alright. I can do that. I'll bring you the money. You can watch through the window. It will just be me." responded Ed and he hung up the phone.

Ed turned to Olivia and opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off before he could say anything.

"Bring him back to us, Ed. Get our boy out of there." said Olivia even though she already knew Ed would do everything in his power to keep Noah safe.

Ed stepped closer to her and kissed her on the forehead as she leaned into him.

"I will, Liv. I will." promised Ed

 _Inside the cabin..._

Noah knocked on the door and called quietly to his grandmother.

"Grandma Sheila? I need to go to the bathroom. There's not one in here." requested Noah.

Sheila ran a hand through her hair as she walked towards the room to unlock it, but at the same time, a quiet pounding on the front door also called to her attention. She looked between both doors, debating which to open first. She knew regardless that that Ed guy would want to see Noah before handing over the money but she couldn't risk having both doors unlocked at the same time. If she opened the front door first and let Ed in, she could open the door to Noah's room and show him a quick glance and have him be on his way. However, she knew it had been a long time since Noah had had a bathroom break and she didn't want her grandson to have an accident. Lord knows how much fun that was to clean up during those days when she was potty training Ellie.

"Grandma? I really need to go?" pleaded Noah. Sheila huffed and quickly unlocked the door to Noah's room and opened her mouth to tell him something but a loud pounding on the front door interrupted her thoughts.

"Sheila? It's Ed. You said you would let me in." spoke Ed through the door. Sheila turned around and walked quickly to the front door, unlocking it slowly. She opened it, allowing Ed to come in and sparing a quick glance at Olivia who looked on a few feet away, a serious look on her face.

Ed stepped into the cabin holding the bag of money. "Alright, here's the money you requested. Now, let me see Noah" stated Ed.

"Weapons." Sheila said. "I need to make sure you're not going to try anything. Take off everything you brought with you." she demanded

Ed sighed. He reached into his back pocket, slowly, taking out his phone first and then moving his hand to his right side where he kept his gun. Sheila observed his every movement with a watchful eye. Her attention was so focused, she didn't hear the quiet turn of the doorknob of the room where Noah was.

Noah opened the door slowly, thankful it was quiet and unlike the small bed in the room that creaked when he sat on it.

His eyes wandered around the room for his grandma Sheila and he gasped quietly as he saw who stood in front of her.

His many years in IAB trained Ed to not only have good eyesight but good hearing as well. He could tell in an interview, the second someone was guilty, whether it was a quick shift of their eyes or a lift in their finger. He was trained in hearing if someone's voice changed, a drop or rise in the octave, tuning him into the fact that someone might be lying.

It was because of that, he could hear the turn of the doorknob and the quiet footsteps Noah made as he tried to now draw attention to himself. Ed kept his eyes trained on Sheila, not giving any indication that he saw or heard Noah, even when Noah let out his quiet gasp. However, Ed took advantage of Sheila's eyes on him and while using his right hand to take out his gun, he used his left hand to count down 3, 2, 1 with his fingers.

Noah knew what that meant. Back when Ed stayed at the apartment with Olivia and Noah, every Sunday, he would wake up early before Noah and Olivia. He would make his way into the kitchen, getting things together to make them breakfast. Noah always woke up shortly after Ed and would wander into the kitchen and Ed would lift him on to a chair and together they would make breakfast and surprised Olivia with breakfast in bed. Together, they would walk quietly into the room, and Ed would signal with his fingers, counting down from 3, and when he reached one, Noah would run towards the bed like he would towards a soccer ball, but instead of kicking anything, he would of course jump onto the bed, smothering his mother with kisses and spoke excitedly about what him and Tuck-Tuck had made for her.

Crouching down, Noah took a deep breath and focused his attention on the door past his grandma. As soon as he saw Ed pointing down with one finger, he ran past his grandma and Ed to the front door. He ran as if he was getting ready to kick a soccer ball into its net.


End file.
